Pokemon TMX : Menace Anew (Part 3)
by Cypherwerf
Summary: Series Continuation. Ash and companions head towards Cerulean. Find out what lies behind Andrea's past. How do Ash and Misty react to each other after their meeting after years of separation?


**Pokemon TMX : Menace Anew (Part 3)**

Disclaimer :  
I don't own Pokemon. Nintendo does. Don't sue me. Bleah

I love all the feedback and reviews. And keep them coming. I read all of them. Even though I might not acknowledge it sometimes. But rest assured. I read all of them.

Hmm, I think before I begin I need to address something first, in case I was a bit vague earlier. This series, is basically about, when ash and the others grow up a little, by about 6 years, then Team Rocket creates this new chemical or drug if you like it, in order to allow them to genetically alter pokemon to become super powered monsters. They plan to use this to control all pokemon and the world, and professor oak gets word of this and sends Ash to round up some people to stop them. Currently, Ash is still in the rounding up stage, and I'm doing it kinda slow, but it'll move along. 

And, anyway, here's the important part. TMX is what I've called this particular drug. It was racking my head for a cool word, but it didn't happen, so I decided to just call this chemical/drug which they pump into Pokemon to make them psychos Transmutagen X, taken, if you like from the word transmute, which is what I got when I looked at the thesaurus for change, and mutate, which is well, you know, like the ninja turtles sorta thing. *Bleah. Can't believe I actually said that* and gen is supposed to be genesis. And, if you realized, TMX is the initials. So, what the heck. I decided to go with it. TMX

So, I've called this series pokemon TMX. I wanted to call it something like Pokemon Alpha, or Pokemon X, but I decided that it was probably totally unoriginal, and someone else would probably have written a fic with that as the title and accuse me of copying or something. So, I decided that a 3 letter combination, TMX, would be less likely to have been used before, because there are 26x26x26=17576 different combinations of three letter titles. And menace anew is coz well, it just means a new danger, faced by this TMX drug. And, it was the best I could think off in two minutes just before I went to sleep. Anyway. On to the story.

Anyway, I included a small intro about Andrea in this chapter. I'm not sure if it came out right. I think you'll still get the facts if you skip that small section. I think I made it a bit too draggy. Hmm. Sorry. 

Pls review. C&C much appreciated. [yulai@singnet.com.sg][1] or [cyperwerf@hotmail.com][2]

Onward!

~-~

**Onward to Cerulean city!**

Brock was elated. He actually hadn't been outright rejected, something that happened well more than halfthe time. He busied himself with looking over Ash's injuries to think his apparently success over. "Sure. Say, tell me more about yourself. And how you came over that huge Zubat. And you still haven't told me your name."

The girl looked up from the backpack she was rummaging through. She beamed another smile. "Oh yeah, my name is Andrea." Two twinkling dimples shone out on her cheeks. Brock was enchanted.

Her face then darkened. Brock was astonished by the remarked change her sweet expression took as it hardened to one near fierceness. "It's a long story," Andrea sighed. "I'm actually trying to stop these mutated pokemon." 

Just as she was about to go on, a loud rumbling sound was heard. Andrea stopped, and started looking quizzically at Brock. Brock noticed the sound also. At first he thought it was from the after effects of the Zubat's supersonic attack, causing the rock structure in Mount Moon to become unstable. He paused, and listened carefully, straining his ears to detect the source vibration and possible landslide.

On closer inspection however, Brock was embarrassed to discover that the rumbling sound was coming from his own stomach. He flushed awkwardly, and stuttered "I guess I'm hungry."

Andrea chuckled. "I suppose I'm quite hungry too. We're overdue for lunch anyway. Come on, let's eat first. I'll tell you my story over lunch."

Brock perked up. He was burning with curiosity, but he guessed he could wait. After all, the pretty girl was hungry. "I'll cook. I'll get us a meal up in a jiffy."

Brock rushed up and started to prepare the meal. Andrea filled with amusement as she saw Brock's frantic actions, and marveled inwardly at how he conjured up a kitchen table and stove from nowhere and started cooking. _What an interesting person. I hope I can get to know him better_. She thought to herself. Andrea busied herself with checking on Ash and Pikachu again, who were still unconscious, but otherwise resting quietly. She pondered. _Maybe these people can help me…_

*~-~*

A little girl was sitting quietly in the corner of her room playing with her dolls. She looked expectantly at the clock. It was late evening already. Daddy was late. Again. For the past few weeks, he had been gradually coming home later and later. The little girl reflected on this. Daddy was probably busy at his work.

The door suddenly opened. A middle aged man with grizzled black hair and a short beard appeared at the doorway with a jolly expression. He was wearing a white laboratory coat. "Darling, I'm home." He called out as he walked firmly into the house. The little girl recognized her father's easy tread, and rushed exuberantly to the doorstep. Running down the stairs, she flung herself into her father's arms.

The man ruffled the little girl's hair and gave her a hug. He was extremely fond of his little girl, ever so since her mother died a few years back of cancer. The little girl was his pride and joy, and he longed to be able to spend more time with her. Alas. "Sorry I've been coming back later and later these few days honey. I've been busy at work. We've been conducting some experiments with encouraging results. We could be on the verge of a breakthrough." Even though the little girl was barely six years of age, she nodded. She had a vague understanding that she would be seeing less of her father.

~-~

Days passed into months, which in turned lengthened into years. The little girl saw less and less of her father, as he became more busy at work. However, the love and care that the father had for the child did not lessen, and of what time he had, he spent most of it as quality time with his growing daughter. As the little girl blossomed into a young lady, she continually had the best of care and material items that her father could give her.

Sometimes she would ask her father how he was doing. He would always beam a smile and say 'Great!'. One day, when she was playing with her little stuffed Eevee, she looked up at her daddy who was sitting on the couch reading the papers, and asked "Daddy, what exactly do you do at the laboratory?"

The man smiled, and put down the issue of the Cinnabar Times that he had been reading. He lifted his daughter onto his lap and began rocking her on his knee. He looked down and beamed a smile at his little girl. "Ah, Darling, you're growing to become a big girl now. Soon, I won't be able to rock you on my lap anymore." The little girl continued hugging her little eevee. The man looked into the distance.

"My partners and I at the laboratory are trying to research into pokemon to try and understand them better. We specialize in the research of fire pokemon, since fire pokemon are mostly native to where we are. Recently, we've been able to isolate a small biochemical that constitutes a part of a hormone secreted by a certain gland in the pokemon. We believe that further study of this may lead to the development of a substance that will help not only make pokemon stronger, but will help us combat many deadly pokemon diseases. This could easily become the greatest pokemon antibiotic known to the world and will help to purge the world of over 450 different kinds of fatal pokemon diseases." He looked down back into the questioning eyes and smiled, losing the reflective glint in his expression. "That's why I've been coming back so late recently honey. Hope you don't mind. This research will help all pokemon kind."

The little girl just cuddled her little eevee and smiled.

~-~

The gangly teenage girl crept just outside of her father's study and silently tried to listen in to the conversation. Recently, her loving father had been coming home in increasingly foul moods. He still loved her as much as he did, but when she pressed him about what was bothering him, he would just try and shrug it off. Earlier that evening, a middle-aged thin man with a stern expression had come to visit them. As he entered their house, her dad had risen with a look of disgust on his face. "Professor." Her dad had said coldly.

"Quarious. I trust you have reconsidered your decision." The thin man had replied. Equally cold.

"I told you that I have nothing more to do with you. Now if you please." He motioned to the door. The teenage girl was astonished. Her father was usually a very cheerful person. The frigid behaviour was extremely unlike him.

The visitor cleared his throat. "We either do this one way, or the other." He gestured to the girl standing in the corner. "I prefer it we talk in private."

The girl's father's stern expression remained. He hesitated a little however, with a quick glance at his daughter, before striding into the study. The visitor followed silently.

And now, she was eavesdropping curiously, trying to find out what it was that affected her father so. A cold sinking feeling settled in her gut as she listened to the conversation.

"Now, now. Professor Quarious. I do not see why you should be so much so against our research more into TMW035. Giovanni is paying us good money for developing it as a way to make pokemon stronger. Your expertise would be greatly valued in our team, since you already have experience in researching with this biochemical."

She heard her father snarl in an angry tone. "You know very well how I feel towards this project. Giovanni is merely using us to develop TMW035 for his own purposes. He wants to alter pokemon and make them stronger for his damned Rockets, to have an invincible pokemon team to rule the world. He doesn't care that the pokemon suffer, so long they are highly powerful and follow his command. It is an outrage of our morals and cruelty in the worst degree possible. The pokemon would become mindless slaves, in endless torment as their biochemical balance is unnaturally altered. It is unthinkable. I will not do it."

"It's good money isn't it? Why bother about the intricates. Anyhow Quarious, it's your decision. I'll hate to see what Giovanni does to you … and your daughter."

The girl heard her father draw a deep breath. "You wouldn't."

"I wouldn't. Well, maybe. But he would. Horribly. I'll take my leave now. Reconsider."

The door open and the man took his leave, letting himself out. The girl's father came out and hugged his daughter. He looked extremely worried.

~-~

** **

A few days later a few black suited men came and supervised the moving of the Quarious family into their new quarters. The girl was constantly aware that from that moment, wherever she went she was always shadowed. Her father was in a continuously somber mood, and was forced to work and research for a cause that he was against, for the sake of the life of his precious daughter. Father and daughter lived in constant fear. The professor was kept in constant slavery at work. Inside, he plotted of a way to get his daughter to a safe place.

The blossoming teen was awakened from her sleep in the early hours on the morning. She murmured incoherently before noticing that her father was before her. "Dad, what's going on?"

"Shh.." The professor cast a furtive glance around. He took out two pokeballs and handed them over to his daughter. "Here, have these. I've trained these once, long ago. Now take them. I've hacked into the main system, and there's going to be a distraction soon. Take the chance and run. I'll stay back and cover your escape. I'll always love you, my sweet." Saying this, he hugged his daughter. He rubbed his eyes, blinking back the tears, willing himself to be strong. He would see to it that his daughter was safe and would no longer add their researches.

"But dad, what about you?" The girl tried to protest.

"Don't worry about me. Just run. Don't turn back." Her father replied. "Remember to always love and care for your pokemon, and that they are living, feeling creatures too. Understand?" The girl nodded. "Good. Now. The distraction is about to occur. Remember to run. Run for your life. Make for Cinnabar. Then head towards Indigo. You must warn the league of the latest TMX chemical that has been developed. Team Rocket must be stopped."

Without further time to think. The familiar frame slipped out into the corridor. The girl followed. Moments later, the whole area suddenly blacked out in a electrical shortage. The professor pushed his daughter in the direction of the town and bid her to run. Spinning to her heels, the girl took to the direction of the town.

Four masked figures wearing rocket uniforms materialized around the professor, their uniforms bearing a huge R insignia on them. The centre one chuckled. "So Professor, it seems that you have outlived your usefulness." Without replying, the professor threw out a pokeball. "Go Flareon!" Mercilessly however, the four rocket agents pulled out sub machine guns and proceeded to gun both pokemon and human down. The sounds of the gunshot rang through the night. The girl gasped. She turned around only to see the four men standing over her father's collapsed figure. Splashes of blood soiled what had once been a pristine floor.

There was no time to grief as two of the men came chasing after her. She ran towards the direction of the town, still clasping on tightly to the two pokeballs that her father had given her as a parting gift. _Must warn the league_, she thought. Running as fast as she could, she accidentally slipped on a small rock in the dark of the night, causing her to slip down a rough slope into the undergrowth. Down and down she went. She heard the rapid firing of guns behind her, but the undergrowth screened her. For the rest of the night, she wandered through the wilderness around cinnabar. She would go and warn them about TMX and Team Rocket.

*~-~*

"So my dad was murdered. He died in order to make sure that I could escape." The raven haired girl's voice broke. "I lay low at Cinnabar for a few days before heading towards Indigo Plateau to warn the league."

Andrea's face turned grim. "Those fools refused to even let me in. The laughed at my stories and scorned them. Said that I must either have some concrete evidence, or 8 badges. I'm traveling on my way to Celadon to attempt to get some evidence, as I heard rumors of a Team rocket base there. Team Rocket must have found out of my plan and sent that monster of a Zubat to stop me. It's lucky you came when you did. The Zubat surprised me and separated me from my pokebelt before I had the chance to draw a pokemon out."

Brock looked equally grim, the lines of his face set, as if encased in rock. "We've been sent by Professor Oak to investigate this TMX also. Don't worry. We'll go with you to Celadon and get some hard evidence for them. When we get to Cerulean we can give Professor Oak a call. Maybe he'll have some news for us" He put a comforting arm around Andrea.

Andrea smiled. "Thanks." She continued on her meal. "Say, these rice balls are great. You're a fabulous cook!"

Brock blushed. "Er.. thanks. If you like them, I can… I can… I can make some more for you. Yeah." Brock threw down his plate and rushed up again. He conjured up his cooking set and began working in a whirl. Andrea chuckled at Brock's eagerness and the comical speed which he was working at. Before long, Brock had a huge dish of rice balls ready. He presented them nicely to Andrea.

Andrea smiled. "Thanks." She took one, and began to munch at it.

The unmoving figure of Ash stirred slightly. He opened his eyes, got up and groaned. Rubbing his head, Ash mumbled, "What happened?". Pikachu began to stir too. Standing up, Ash gave a few sniffs and caught a whiff of the fragrant aroma from the food. Immediately, recovering, he threw himself in front of the huge pile of rice balls and started gobbling them at a superhuman speed. Pikachu leapt up too and landed in front of the plate and started eating. "What did I miss?"

Brock sighed. After being nearly killed by a 50 foot bat and lapsing into unconsciousness, the first thing he thought about when he got up in the presence of a stranger in the middle of a collapsed cavern was not what happened to the monster pokemon, but instead his own stomach. "Ash, this is Andrea." Ash looked up briefly from the pile of food and nodded at her. "Hi." He then turned back and continued gobbling. Seeing Andrea's quizzical expression, Brock mouthed, "hungry".

Brock got up. "I had better go make some more. I guess I'll fill you in later Ash. When you're done eating…"

Ash replied. "Sure thing!"

Andrea only chuckled.

~-~

"So, you guys are heading to Celadon to investigate into Team Rocket's operation also?" Andrea queried. Brock had told Ash about Andrea's story. They had then in turn decided to inform Andrea about their mission that they were undertaking. Right now, Ash was just finishing his meal, digging his chopsticks as fast as he could into his bowl. He burped a yes in reply. Brock frowned at him.

"That's cool, can I come along too? Since we're investigating the same thing." Andrea rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a cyan hairband. She removed the remains of the one ripped in battle from her hair and began tying her hair up in a ponytail. Brock watched spellbound. He went into gaga mode and began staring with a fascinated expression, his mouth slightly agape, a slight line of drool coming out of the side of his mouth. Ash watched in amusement from behind his bowl as Brock murmured dreamily. "You're preeettty."

"Huh?" Andrea turned around and caught a brief glimpse of Brock drooling at her before he hurriedly shut his mouth and tried to cover up by saying "Sure. That'll be great. You'll be a great addition to our team, and it'll be fun to have another person to travel with." No one was fooled however. Ash coughed, choking on a small piece of riceball. Pikachu fell off the table top in laughter. Andrea gave a giggle. And Brock, of course, blushed.

"Great, that's settled then! We'll set off when you finish your meal." Andrea turned back to rummaging through her backpack. Brock took the opportunity to give the laughing pokemon and his trainer a brief scowl.

~-~

The three trainers exited from the Mount Moon tunnels and proceeded on the track towards Cerulean City. Ash hefted at the straps of his backpack around his shoulders as he continued with long firm strides towards their next destination. He reflected that only three days ago, he would never have imagined that he would be undertaking such a grim task. Already, they had been assaulted by a extremely dangerous pokemon. Still, that was probably a good thing, as it gave them some warning and experience of what was to come. And, it had allowed them to gain another traveling companion. _One which Brock is delighted at_, he thought wryly. He cast a fleeting glimpse to the back and right of him. Sure enough, there was Andrea, … with Brock hanging around her right elbow, behaving the way he always has been behaving, around a pretty girl. Still, Andrea hadn't appeared to be *too* annoyed. Yet.

"You know you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen. Do you have a boyfriend? Will you go out with me? Can I be your boyfriend? Will you marry me? You're a very nice person you know."

Ash cringed. He considered turning around and dragging away his desperate friend and knocking him out to save him from embarrassing himself even further. He turned around. Brock looked up and mouthed the words, _I think she likes me_. Ash only grimaced.

Andrea stopped in mid step. Ash whispered quietly to Pikachu who was perched on his shoulder. "She's going to go for the slap. Bet you a fiver it's the right cheek." Pikachu shook his head. "Pika! Kapi chu!" (You're on! I say it's the left cheek)

To everybody's surprise, including Brock's ( since he was so used to rejections by now). Andrea giggled, "Brock, I have no doubt that you are actually in fact a very nice person and a very nice guy, especially so since you have just saved my life. It is extremely flattering to me that you should think of me in this manner. I wouldn't mind going out with you some time, and it's great having you as a friend. But can you lay off the flattery a little bit? It's starting to get slightly on my nerves." She flashed another grin, before continuing walking down the path.

Ash and Pikachu stopped dead in their tracks staring at Brock at Andrea with their jaws hitting the ground in shock. Brock gasped. A goofy expression came over his face. "She likes me…" He said dreamily, as he floated down the path in the trail following Andrea. Ash and Pikachu continued staring, before seeing the look on Brock's face. On that, they doubled over in laughter. Pikachu laughed so hard that he rolled off the path and into the bushes. Brock hardly noticed. He was so caught up with the fact that somebody might actually want to go out with him. It was a new experience. 

Andrea stopped. She turned around and arched an eyebrow at Ash and Pikachu. "What?" Amidst his own laughter, Ash replied, "Nothing, it's just that Brock…" Brock flashed him a look. "Nothing, nothing at all." Ash continued. Andrea would probably find out soon enough, and anyway, Brock deserved to get a girlfriend sooner or later.

Andrea shrugged. The party continued on it's way to Cerulean.

~-~

There it was. The Cerulean city gym. Ash felt many fond old memories wash passed him as he stood at a small hilltop gazing down at the blue aquacentre building of the Cerulean City Gym. This had been where he and Misty battled for the Cascade badge. Misty… He wondered how she was. A slight apprehension gripped him as he wondered to himself. Will she remember me? _Idiot_, he chided himself. _She spent two years of her life traveling with you. Of course she'll remember you. _He smiled quietly. Even though he would never admit it to others, he missed traveling with the redhead. Even though it seemed like they got on each other's nerves quite often enough and were always endlessly arguing, they had always been the best of friends. 

The trio stepped in the entrance of the gym. The entrance led directly to a huge swimming pool surrounded by high diving boards. Just as they entered, three shapely figures dived off the diving boards in sync, twisting and turning in perfection to compliment each others movements before gracefully splashing into the pool. On seeing their entrance, they swam to the side. The blond one spoke up, "Hey, if you're like, looking for a challenge for the cascade badge, you can like, battle our sister Misty at the other pool. This pool is like used only for performances and practices by us," She gestured at the three female divers, and they all did a pose, "the Sensational Sisters."

Ash snorted slightly, and his upper lip twitched a miniscule. Over the years, he had learnt to be *slightly* more tactful, and therefore didn't say anything in response to the pose. He just nodded, and proceeded in the direction of the entrance where the Waterflower sisters had pointed towards. Brock however was caught frozen there. He was almost going into his pretty girl mode.

"_Oh my god, those are Misty's three beautiful sisters. They're preetty. I nearly forgot about them, how could I? I know, I'll go ask them out._" Brock thought. Three pretty girls in his eyes, all in front of him. He debated who he should ask out first.

"Hi, I heard so much about you three. You won the world championships for the synchronized diving event last year right?" Andrea stepped out from behind Brock and greeted the Waterflower sisters. She waved, and gave a cute smile.

Brock switched his weight between his legs nervously. "_Argh, I forgot about Andrea. She look soo cute. What to do what to do. Must not disappoint her._" Brock thought furiously. He raised his arms and covered his eyes. A second later though, he peeked out at the Cerulean sisters. "_But… but… they're so pretty!!! Argh._"

Just then, the three swimsuit clad girls giggled bubbly. Lily spoke up. "You mean, you have like, actually heard about us? That's great!" They plunged into the pool and did a pose again, beaming dazzling smiles at Brock and Andrea. Violet giggled. "Yep, that's us already. We are like, the sensational sisters!"

Brock watched quietly, fascinated. He was enthralled. He was trembling inside with suppressed nervous energy, willing his own self restraint to control him. "Must… Must… not give in to temptation and make a fool of myself." Brock thought through tightly clenched teeth. "Must… resist. Argh, I'm losing control…" Andrea turned around and raised an eyebrow at Brock's, who was standing stiffly and was gradually reddening all over. She flashed him a smile. Brock went berserk.

"Argh!!!" He screamed maniacally before dashing off in the direction of the exit, flinging his arms wildly in the air. "I can't take it anymore!!!" At least, what he thought was the direction of the exit. Instead, the next moment, he found himself flailing in the air as he ran off the edge of a pool and splashed into the water below. The girls looked at the spot where he plunged in and blinked. The horde of bubbles gradually subsided. After a long while, Brock then surfaced. He was utterly wet, and splashed about, red faced, gasping for breath. "Blurp blurp."

"Like, who's your friend?" Daisy spoke up, arching one finger in the direction of the sodden figure, as she casually dried herself with a towel with another hand. "He's weird."

Andrea shrugged. "I dunno. I just met him actually. Sometimes he behaves weirdly like that. A guy thing probably."

Brock only continued to splutter.

~-~

Ash strode in the next room, ignorant of the commotion that had just occurred behind him. He paused for a moment, standing in the shadows near the doorway as he surveyed the room within. The sight took his breath away. He gasped.

A huge pool, the size of four Olympic sized swimming pools, larger than the one in the outer chamber was situated in the middle of the room. A high diving board, 20 metres in the air situated at the opposite side of the pool. However, what caught Ash's breath was the silhouette of a tall graceful figure gliding smoothly along the length of the diving board.

'_She's more beautiful than I thought she would be._" Ash thought. The cherry-red haired lady had a stunning figure that filled out under her cobalt coloured swimsuit. She moved with the grace of a ballet dancer as she approached the end of the board with a composed expression on her facial features. Nimbly, in one smooth motion, she vaulted lithely off the edge of the springboard and performed five and a half full somersaults before plunging into the pool below. She hardly made a splash as she entered. Seldom as it happened, Ash was caught awestruck by the diver's sheer beauty and elegance in appearance and movement.

Ash remembered that he always had a *thing* for Misty. The had always been good friends, and enjoyed each other's company, almost akin to being soul mates. It was a pity that they spent most of their time indulging in petty squabbles. Ash always liked Misty secretly, but had always attributed it to a mere crush, he being young, merely 12. Ash was afraid that Misty would behave differently around him and that he would lose her friendship, something that he valued greatly, if he made a wrong move. Therefore, he was always content to carry on with their constant bickering, the lack of change ensuring that their relationship could not possibly take a turn for the worse. He had realized too late, after they hard parted after his journey, that Misty would not be around forever for them to continue their arguing, and in the last few years, he had often been saddened, that he had not take numerous opportunities, to further develop his relationship with Misty to a further level. Now, seeing her with his own eyes, Ash felt unexplainable emotions stir within him. He shook his head quietly. _No, better not do anything rash. _He thought._ Just stick to how it was like, in the sweet memories of the days of the old._

A familiar red head popped up suddenly, breaking a small opening in the stillness of the water. "Who is it? Come out where I can see you. What do you want?" She said warily. Ash got a small shock, before taking a deep breath to regain his composure and pushed his thoughts aside. He remembered that he was still standing in the shadows. Giving a smile as a brief plan came to him, he decided to play it cool and see how Misty would react.

He applauded. "That was an impressive dive, Misty Waterflower." Ash kept his voice gruff. He doubted Misty would recognize him. He had grown. Besides, if she was anything like the Misty of the old, she wouldprobably dismiss the fact that he could possibly be Ash due to the fact that he wasn't supposed to be taller than Misty. Oh well, things change. His features hardened for a second with worry before relaxing again. He hoped that Misty hadn't changed too much inside.

Misty gave a kick and propelled herself out of the water, landing softly in front of the pool. Her pale cheeks dashed with a touch of crimson, "umm thanks." Then her face hardened. Misty chastened herself silently. She still had no idea who this intruder was, and it started to give her the creeps. Still, the figure looked familiar, and somehow, she felt that she could probably trust the person and that he was probably a friend. Misty's expression hardened, she should be more careful. Her voice rang out stonily.

"I trust you've come to compete for a Cascade badge. Well, obviously you don't know anything about gym, like that we only take challenges in the morning. If that reflects on your ability, you'll need to be better than that in order to be able to beat me. Still, I'll oblige you." She turned around and walked towards a trainer platform on the other side of the pool

Ash grinned. "If it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get." He couldn't help but admire Misty's graceful way of walking from her back as she strode towards the platform. "_Ash, stop it. You're becoming like Brock._" He spoke silently to himself

~-~

"This will be a sanctioned Pokemon League match. Standard Pokemon League rules apply. We will have a two on two battle."

Misty peered questioningly at Ash and frowned. Now that she was able to see him in the light, he definitely looked kind of familiar. He was a tall figure. Slim, yet well muscled. His longish black hair flopped about, the longest strand of the fringe curving slightly near the level of his nose. Golden brown eyes seemed to be glinting at her with some traces of hidden amusement. Misty quickly ran through her mind the number of people whom she knew that were of that particular height and built. She came up to an absolute blank. Exasperated, she brought her mind back to the impending battle. Drawing her arm back, she tossed a pokeball towards the centre of the pool. "Misty chooses Staryu" In her movement, a lock of Misty's long hair dropped down between her eyes. She gave a frustrated shake of the head and tossed it back in place to the side. 

The opposing figure smiled. The weird sense inside Misty that this was someone familiar arose again, even stronger. A yellow Pikachu popped out from behind the trainer and gave a leap. Instead of jumping into the pool however, it jumped on to her platform, and hopped up into her arms. Misty gave a confused blink. 

"Guess some things never change eh? Mist."

Misty gave a shocked look of recognition. She brought her hand up to cover her opened mouth. "Ash! It's you! And Pikachu! It's been so long…"

"Pikapi"

"Yep, it's been quite a while…"

~-~

"I take back my previous statement."

Misty cast a questioning gaze at Ash. "What?"  
  


"Some things do change. Like you can't exactly be called scrawny any more."

Misty turned beetroot red. "Thanks." Then upon rethinking that statement, she put one hand on her hips and her eyes flared. "Why you.. What did you mean by that? I was never scrawny!"

The two best friends had called off their battle and were now talking by the edge of the pool. Pikachu, and the rest of Ash's pokemon was resting a short distance away, catching up with Misty's pokemon. Ash and Misty got to get a closer look at each other. They had really grown since they last met. Misty had fully matured. She no longer wore her hair in a short cropped ponytail, but instead kept it at a nice shoulder length. Daily trainings at the Cerulean gym beating pokemon trainers had kept her pokemon fit and strong, and daily diving sessions had given her much grace and a good figure. Misty was not the only one to be admired. Ash also had kept fit by his pokemon training, and it showed, by the faint outline of his trim body that he maintained. A mischievous glint flashed through Misty's eyes, and Ash had the briefest premonitions. "_Why do I have a bad feeling abo…. Waaah_" Ash thought as Misty pushed him into the pool. Ash flailed his arms wildly in an unsuccessful bid to change his trajectory. "Waaaah". Already, a plan was hatching in Ash's mind on how to get Misty back.

The gigantic splash resounded throughout the room. Misty giggled. "That'll teach you to call me scrawny!" Moments past. Misty watched in growing horror as the bubbles at the surface of the pool gradually disappeared. "Ash?" She called out. "You can come out now. I know you're waiting for me to go near the edge of the pool so you can pull me in." More time elapsed and Misty watched with growing horror as more bubbles disappeared and no more bubbles surfaced. "Stop it Ash. It's not funny.. I know what you're up too. You're scaring me." She said worriedly. The Waterflowers of Cerulean city kept a 5 metre deep pool as they were all expert swimmers and their acts sometimes involved diving from tall heights. As such, there was sometimes the danger of drowning. Misty edged towards the side of the pool. "Ash?" "Ash!" She crouched at the side of the pool, trying to peer through the murky gloom of the deep pool waters.

Suddenly, a figure broke through the water surface and leapt up at Misty. Misty closed her eyes and squealed, as she got splashed in the face by water. "Gotcha!" Ash cried triumphantly as he pulled Misty back into the water with him, drenching her.

"You creep! You had me seriously worried there!" Misty shouted. Amidst her serious expression, and the forlorn figure she looked, with her wet hair plastered around her face and in a mess, Ash realized that maybe he had gone too far. "Sorry Misty, I didn't think you'll take it so seriously."

Misty's figure relaxed. She then suddenly sent a huge splash of water into Ash's face before swimming a few metres away. Ash cleared his eyes from the water. "Serves you right!" Misty shouted, splashing more water from a distance. Ash grinned evilly. He swam after her, surprisingly fast, and splashed water back at her.

It soon degenerated to a childish water fight.

~-~

The pokemon watching from the sidelines grew huge sweatdrops on their heads as their watched their trainers splash it out in the water.

"Star Staryu. Yu yu." (I thought they outgrew this sorta thing)

"Venu Venu Venusaur" (Apparently not…)

"Gol Gol Golduck" (Is this some kind was weird water dance? I like the squeals. They add artistic appeal.)

A huge white puffcloud grew over all the pokemons' heads as they turned away briefly from Ash and Misty and stared at Golduck.

Andrea walked in the room. Followed by Brock, still dripping wet from his recent encounter with a swimming pool, and the three sensational sisters, who were still wet from their dives, and trying to dry off. They paused in mid-step and tried to absorb the scene in front of them.

Misty squealed as Ash sent a huge splash of water at her. She closed her eyes and tried to put her arms up to block it. She immediately counterattacked, sending a series of quick, splashes at Ash. Caught of the defensive, Ash yelled. He tried to avoid the waves, and swam speedily away, with Misty hard on his tail.

Andrea rolled her eyes. "Is everybody wet except me?"

Behind her, Brock and the three Waterflower sisters grinned evilly. There was a fresh squeal as Andrea was pushed into the pool.

to be continued

~-~

Blah. Ok. This sucks. I dunno. Well. Argh. Anyway, I've got a few things to say.

Firstly, sorry I took longer than usual to post this part. I wanted to get it done yesterday, but I didn't manage to, coz I had a bit of writer's block. In fact, maybe I should have taken a little longer to do this but I didn't want to lose momentum

Next, sorry about the lack of action in this fic. I sorta wanted the focus to be when Ash meets Misty for the first time after a long while, so as to be able to set the AAMR part right a bit, but I think it turned out a bit cheesy. I mean. Hey. It's a bit stereotypical right? I'll put a lot of action into the next part when they reach celadon. In fact, I plan to have something special happen to all of them. I hope to get it done by Sunday. Coz I'm going on vacation to this deserted island resort from Monday to Thursday. But, I think it'll be longer than that till it's done, coz the next part is supposed to be a really big part, so optimistically, I'll have it done by Christmas.

I'll put this under romance. I really hope I didn't make the writing too boring. I was at a big turning point in the Ash battles Misty scene, becoz I was wondering whether to actually let them battle or not, then they could compare attacks and stuff. But then again, Ash probably wouldn't want to, in real life, so, I didn't have them do it. Anyway, I must say I took a bit of ideas from weepinbell's pokemon mythology fic. Sorry about that. Here, let me take this chance to advertise one of my favourite writers. Weepinbell's fics aren't as popularized as some, but it is DAMN good. Weepinbell writes a good series, with 3 seasons and around 30 fics, so it is of good length. Here's the url to the first part on weepinbell's website. Read it. Highly recommended. 

[http://members.nbci.com/weepinbell/mythology.htm][3]

Please review. C&C much appreciated. [yulai@singnet.com.sg][1] or [cypherwerf@hotmail.com][4]

   [1]: mailto:yulai@singnet.com.sg
   [2]: mailto:cyperwerf@hotmail.com
   [3]: http://members.nbci.com/weepinbell/mythology.htm
   [4]: mailto:cypherwerf@hotmail.com



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